


polaroids & proposals

by miracleboysatori



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-27 21:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20767499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miracleboysatori/pseuds/miracleboysatori
Summary: Wakatoshi pauses with the huge gift in his lap, hand hovering above its crudely tied bow.“Wanna guess what it is first?” Satori rocks in place, cross-legged on the floor.“Hmm,” Wakatoshi looks down at Satori from his spot on the chair, then back at the gift. His eyes are narrow in deep thought, “is it the set of luggage we saw at the store last week? I believe I mentioned needing a new set.”“Oooh, maybe~” Satori bites his lip, anticipation giving him a slight stomach ache, “guess you’ll find out!”It’sdefinitelynot a set of luggage. Not even close.





	polaroids & proposals

**Author's Note:**

> For ushiten week, day 3! I went with the 'seasons' prompt, partly because I can never resist the opportunity to write a Christmas fic. Partly because I'm more than ready for colder weather ;; And mostly because fluffy ushiten is just.. (chefs kiss)
> 
> I hope you enjoy! As a reminder, I don't have a beta, but I'll look over this in a few days and check for mistakes. For now, I apologize in advance for any that are there. Because of how much and how fast I've been writing the past few days, there may be more than normal, but I really hope not!
> 
> Thanks for reading ;; ♡

Today is the day.

Right now is the moment.

Wakatoshi’s hand is reaching for the biggest present under the tree, and Satori’s heart feels like it’s going to leap through his throat.

“Is this one alright?” Wakatoshi asks, as if he needs to get permission to open a gift that has his name on it.

“Yeah!” Satori thinks his voice may have just cracked, “Whatever you want, ‘Toshi! Oh, but wait!”

Wakatoshi pauses with the huge gift in his lap, hand hovering above its crudely tied bow.

“Wanna guess what it is first?” Satori rocks in place, cross-legged on the floor.

“Hmm,” Wakatoshi looks down at Satori from his spot on the chair, then back at the gift. His eyes are narrow in deep thought, “is it the set of luggage we saw at the store last week? I believe I mentioned needing a new set.”

“Oooh, maybe~” Satori bites his lip, anticipation giving him a slight stomach ache, “guess you’ll find out!”

It’s _definitely_ not a set of luggage. Not even close.

Wakatoshi unties the bow, removes the package’s ribbon. Satori watches, unblinkingly, hoping and praying that he doesn’t pass out before Wakatoshi gets to the contents of this gift. This is something he’s planned for a long time, something that he hopes causes the reaction that he expects. 

The wrapping paper is gone now, and Wakatoshi is staring at a large cardboard box. Maybe he’s still trying to guess what could be inside. He eyes it curiously for several seconds -- why is he always so slow while unwrapping gifts? -- and then carefully peels the tape securing the box. 

Inside of the cardboard box is --

“Another box?” Wakatoshi looks up, eyeing Satori suspiciously, “That doesn’t seem necessary.”

“Oh, it is,” Satori chuckles, still trying to keep his nerves under control, “keep going!”

Wakatoshi does, and when he opens the second one, he reveals yet another, smaller, box. Again, he looks at Satori with confusion, and Satori urges him to continue.

This process goes on for a while, Wakatoshi continues discovering layers of cardboard, leading up to an old shoe box that Satori had decided to repurpose for this. Wakatoshi’s hand pauses over the tape securing its lid, giving Satori one of his adorably frustrated looks.

“I don’t understand,” he plainly says, but he doesn’t need to tell Satori. Satori already knows.

“I know, I know,” Satori really can’t sit still at this point, “it’ll make sense, just -- keep unwrapping!”

Within the shoe box is, of course, yet another smaller box. Wakatoshi looks confused and annoyed enough to give up altogether, but Satori’s sure his eager expression is all it takes to convince him to keep going. The pile of boxes next to Wakatoshi’s armchair is growing at an alarming rate. Satori quickly realizes that he hadn’t considered the amount of trash that this elaborate plan would cause.

An old phone box slides open to reveal the actual container for the real gift. Satori’s mouth is dry, he’s suddenly and quickly reciting in his head the exact way he wants to say these words, the movements he’ll make --

Wakatoshi opens the box and narrows his eyes. 

Satori’s heart sinks.

“There’s nothing,” Wakatoshi turns the box for Satori to see, shaking it in his hand, “was this just a prank, Satori?”

“Wh -- “ Satori’s heart is pounding against his chest.

Of course he would mess this up. Of course he’d forget to put the actual gift in the final box, and of course he would have chosen to wrap it up in layers upon layers of cardboard, all causing Wakatoshi to become annoyed, all causing this entire thing to go completely wrong.

How could be have forgotten the fucking ring?

He scrambles around on the floor, hoping the ring box hadn’t somehow made its way to the carpet. He laughs to cover up his now completely ruined mood, “Y-yeah! Funny, right?”

Wakatoshi’s face clearly says ‘no’.

The ring is nowhere to be seen. Satori hopes it’s still stuffed away in his dresser, though he still wishes it would’ve been where it was _supposed_ to be. How could he forget? He supposes that he just got so incredibly excited about the entire idea that the most important part of the plan had simply slipped his mind. He _does_ have a hard time focusing on things, and even though Wakatoshi says it’s okay to be that way, Satori knows it can get him into trouble sometimes.

Trouble like this: a ruined proposal plan.

Wakatoshi is still looking at him with a strange expression. Satori knows, all too well, that Wakatoshi does not like to feel like his time and effort are being wasted. And they aren’t! Well, they weren’t _supposed_ to be, anyway. Satori’s intentions were good, _extremely_ good.

“It’s your turn,” Wakatoshi reminds him, gesturing towards the small number of gifts left under the tree.

“Actually, y’know what?” Satori clumsily stands up, having to anchor himself on Wakatoshi’s knee for a moment. He pats it gently, “You unwrap another one, that last one wasn’t fair. And I, uh,” he awkwardly backs up, avoiding Wakatoshi’s stare, “I’ll be right back!”

“Okay,” Wakatoshi agrees, but his face says that he’s still extremely lost. 

Satori can’t blame him; not only did he just unwrap a pointless and time-consuming gift, but now his boyfriend is acting very strange. Stranger than normal, anyway. 

Satori quickly enters their bedroom, listening for any sounds of Wakatoshi following him. Thankfully, he can hear his boyfriend continuing to rip paper in the living room. Good, he’s preoccupied. Probably more so than before, given that Satori figures he’s even more determined to actually receive a gift this time.

As quietly as he can, Satori pulls open his dresser drawer, taking a deep breath in preparation for the worst. What if it’s not there? What if he’s somehow lost it? What if he has to buy another and, even more upsetting, come up with a plan b. This was supposed to be the perfect way to do it! For years Christmas has always been Wakatoshi and Satori’s favorite holiday, the perfect mix of gift giving, cuddles, hot drinks, and cheesy movie marathons. Satori’s known for a while now that this day would be the ideal time to propose, and he certainly doesn’t want to have to wait till an entire year from now.

No way, he’s _so_ ready to put a ring on that beautiful man’s finger.

Satori exhales with relief when he finds the ring in its original spot, underneath layers of mismatched socks. The red velvet box pops open, revealing a smooth silver engagement band. Nothing flashy, Wakatoshi wouldn’t want something like that. But Satori thinks this one suits him perfectly. 

If only, y’know, he’d actually put it in the damn gift.

Now isn’t the time to beat himself up. Satori holds the box in his hand, trying to decide where to hide it. The pocket of his hoodie seems like a good enough option for now, but he’s so afraid of it falling out that he keeps his hand inside too.

Wakatoshi has finished unwrapping his second gift: a new set of gardening tools. But now he’s holding the small empty box in his hand again, studying its interior and tracing his fingers across its edges.

“What’re you doing?” Satori laughs, plopping back down on the floor in front of Wakatoshi, “I told you, it’s empty.”

He takes a moment to slide his hand into his sleeve, sneakily pulling the box out of his pocket and quickly holding it behind his back. It felt like a good idea, but now he’s suddenly realizing that he has to do something with it. He can’t just hold it in his hand for hours.

“I know what you said,” Wakatoshi’s voice is soft, his attention is completely set on this silly box, “but I know you well enough that there could be something else that I’m not catching.”

“Nope, I told ya’,” Satori shrugs, “it was just a joke.”

“A strange joke,” Wakatoshi finally gives up, gently placing the box on the floor next to the other larger ones, “but if it made you laugh then I suppose that’s what matters.”

Well, it didn’t make Satori laugh. It really only made him feel like a complete idiot, but whatever.

“Thank you for the gardening tools,” Wakatoshi gestures towards the set next to his other gifts, “I needed new ones.”

“I know! S’why I got ‘em,” Satori laughs again. Maybe he’s laughing more than usual because he’s incredibly nervous.

Judging by the sweat on his palms, yeah, he’s _super_ nervous.

“It’s your turn now,” Wakatoshi reminds him again.

Oh yeah. 

Satori glances towards the tree and then back at Wakatoshi. Either he can somehow drop the ring in his pocket again without Wakatoshi noticing, or he can finally just say what he wants to say and do the damn thing. The first option would be easier, maybe, but Satori knows if he keeps putting it off, his nerves will fight back, he’ll never actually do it.

“Right! Um,” he chews on his lip, “actually, I wanted to take a break.”

“Okay,” Wakatoshi blinks, confusion filling his face again. Then he pulls out a question Satori doesn’t expect, “are you alright?”

“Me? Yeah!” Satori nervously chuckles, hoping that Wakatoshi won’t notice, “I’m fine, why?”

“I wondered why you left the room,” Wakatoshi admits.

Oh no. 

“Oh! Well, I realized that I forgot to turn the lamp off,” he pulls out the first thing that pops in his head, “don’t wanna waste electricity!”

“I turned both of our lamps off this morning,” Wakatoshi narrows his eyes.

He’s definitely on to him.

“Really? Huh!” Satori mocks surprise, “That’s funny! Maybe we have a ghost?”

“I don’t think so,” Wakatoshi’s stare is piercing, and if he weren’t in such an awkward predicament, Satori might actually be a little turned on, “what are you holding behind your back?”

_Shit._

“My back is itchy! Just scratchin’ it!” Satori feels like face-palming at his own excuse.

“For several minutes?”

Now, Satori loves Wakatoshi. He loves him so much that he definitely wants to ask him to be his husband, and he loves him so much that he’s passed on several anime marathons and conventions just to go on dates with him, just to watch him play volleyball. Satori loves Wakatoshi, but sometimes he really _doesn’t_ love how well he knows him at this point. Satori’s always been the supposed ‘mind reader’, but Wakatoshi’s clearly learned a thing or two after several years, he’s got Satori figured out.

That or Satori’s just incredibly obvious. Could be a mixture of both.

“If your back is that itchy, perhaps we should take a look at it. Maybe you’re having an allergic reaction to something.”

Well, at least Wakatoshi doesn’t sound as suspicious as he does concerned. Unfortunately he doesn’t know how to let things go without getting a concrete and clear answer. So really, Satori doesn’t have much a choice right now.

Time to pop the question, then.

“No, that’s not it, Wakatoshi,” Satori sighs, “listen, I… I was supposed to put something in that big gift but I totally forgot to do it.”

“You forgot?”

Satori ignores the fact that Wakatoshi is looking at him as if that’s something people just don’t do. Satori’s sure it’s happened to other people, right? Maybe not _a lot_, and probably not with things as important as this, but…

“Yeah, I forgot,” Satori groans, “and it would’ve been awesome if I didn’t! But now it’s awkward and I dunno what to do.”

“Couldn’t you tell me what it was? Or go and grab the gift?”

Obvious answers to a simple question, but Satori knows that Wakatoshi wouldn’t be suggestioning them if he were sitting in this position.

“I kinda already have it,” Satori adjusts to sit on his knees, “it’s behind my back.”

“Oh, then why haven’t you given it to me?” Wakatoshi cocks his head, “You’re acting very strange.”

Of course he is! Satori knows he’s acting weird! This is a big deal, a huge moment, and he wants to do it right, but unfortunately he’s already messed that part up. Now he has to rely on his spontaneity to figure this out for him.

“Okay, I will,” Satori gulps, “but you gotta close your eyes first, ‘kay?”

Wakatoshi does just that, looking adorable as ever with his hands on his knees, his back straight, and his expression completely serious.

“Don’t open until I tell you to!” Satori insists.

Wakatoshi nods, “Alright.”

So… _now_ is the moment. Satori’s mouth is very dry and his hands are shaking. His entire body is shaking, actually. He does his best to compose himself and scoots forward until he’s close enough to rest both hands on Wakatoshi’s thighs. He finally allows himself to pull his arm back in front of him, ignoring the slight pain in his shoulder from having it there for too long, eyeing the ring box again. 

He pops it open again, closes his eyes for several seconds, and then stares directly at Wakatoshi’s face.

“Alright, open.”

Wakatoshi’s eyes settle on Satori’s face for a second, then find the ring box. His stare is blank for, until realization sets in.

“It’s -- “

“A ring,” Satori finishes for him, “I can’t believe I was so stupid, Wakatoshi, I wanted it to be a big surprise after a funny joke, but I totally messed up.”

“I see,” Wakatoshi mumbles, his eyes wide, a strange expression filling his face.

Oh no, is he upset? Is this something Satori should have waited on? Maybe it’s too soon? Hell, they’ve been dating for almost ten years now, everyone around them tells them that they’re basically married anyway, so surely this wouldn’t upset the love of his life, right? But if Satori is judging by his face, then…

“Sorry,” he scrambles to put the ring back in his pocket, “god, this is awkward, ‘Toshi, just forget I did any of this, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, and -- “

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Wakatoshi shakes his head, squirming in place a little bit, “this is just awkward.”

_Shit._ Satori wants to go back in time, undo all of this, put the big question off for another year. It’s probably a conversation they should have previously had, anyway.

There’s tears springing up in the corners of Satori’s eyes, and he feels like retreating into the bedroom for the rest of the day. This was all a mistake, a stupid, embarassing mistake.

“Satori,” Wakatoshi says in a concerned voice, reaching out to lift his chin, “why are you crying?”

“Because I messed up, ‘Toshi,” he avoids his stare, opting to look at the Christmas tree instead, “I shouldn’t have asked -- “

“No, you misunderstand,” Wakatoshi scoots forwards in his chair and grabs Satori’s face with both hands, forcing him to look at him, “I’m not upset that you asked. There’s just,” he pauses, looking at the tree, “well, you should open your next gift now.”

This is all so strange and uncomfortable, but Satori takes the distraction and change of subject as a blessing. He sniffles, shoves the ring back in his pocket, and reaches for another gift. He goes for a big one, hoping that whatever is inside can help cheer him up.

“No, not that one,” Wakatoshi interrupts, pointing towards another gift, “you should open the small one.”

Satori looks at him weird, wondering why he wants him to open this one specifically. He doesn’t argue, just grabs the indicated gift, noticing that it’s small enough to fit in his palm. He vaguely wonders how Wakatoshi can wrap a gift like this so perfectly when his hands are so large.

He quickly unties the neat ribbon, ripping at the paper with more force than necessary. He’s just upset, disappointed in himself for ruining their favorite day of the year. And Wakatoshi is being so passive about it, which he supposes he should probably be thankful for. Sometimes Wakatoshi’s lack of reaction towards things is nice, but today… well, Satori wishes he would have at least felt _something_. He’s not angry at him, no… just disappointed. 

Inside the layer of paper is a small brown box. Satori lifts its lid, revealing a polaroid of himself. An old one, a photo that Wakatoshi had taken of him back during their first year after high school, the day they’d decided to become roommates. In the picture, Satori is lounging on a chair that he’d pulled together out of moving boxes. Satori remembers Wakatoshi remarking how uncomfortable it looked. And yeah, he was correct, as usual.

Satori looks up at Wakatoshi, admittedly confused, “Wh -- ?”

“Keep going,” Wakatoshi suggests, shaking slightly in his seat. 

As lost as he is, Satori keeps going. The next polaroid is of both of them, from the first time they went to a botanical garden. Satori is blurry in this one, probably because he was so excited he couldn’t stop moving. But Wakatoshi looks cute, he always looks cute, especially when he’s smiling like this.

Following that one is an image of Satori completely engulfed in a ball pit. Oh yeah, that was the day they had an impromptu date at some arcade meant for kids. Satori fondly remembers how polite Wakatoshi was to all the kids, how he’d lifted one of them in the air and proceeded to be asked countless times for the exact same thing by other children. If he remembers right, they were stuck there for a while. But it was cute… seeing how good Wakatoshi is with kids is cute.

The polaroids keep going, several images of many defining moments in their relationship, some big and some small. Some are silly and others are more serious. And yeah, Wakatoshi snuck one in that Satori had taken during their first ‘morning after’. Satori offers up a sly smile at that one.

He’s beginning to think the pile might be endless, that the point of this entire gift was a trip down memory lane. He wouldn’t complain if that were the case, he always likes to look back at the pictures they’ve taken together.

But then it suddenly becomes clear what the real point of this gift is.

The final polaroid is a simple image of a ring box, almost identical to the one Satori had brought out just now. In the white space of the polaroid is a simple question mark. Satori’s mind doesn’t quite connect the dots until --

“Waka -- “ he lifts his head, realizes that Wakatoshi is now on the floor with him, holding the very same ring box from the picture.

“I wanted to show you all the reasons why I want to be with you for the rest of my life,” Wakatoshi says, voice shaking, “and I wanted to ask you if you’ll marry -- “

“Yes!” Satori blurts, accidently dropping the stack of polaroids as he gets up on his knees, “Yes, Wakatoshi, oh my god!”

He nearly knocks Wakatoshi over when he springs towards him, wrapping his arms around his neck and stuffing his face against his neck. Wakatoshi steadies himself with one hand, then reciprocates the gesture, hugging him tightly.

“That’s why,” Wakatoshi explains, voice shaking even more as he fights back tears, “that’s why I reacted the way I did.”

“It’s okay, Wakatoshi,” Satori squeezes him tighter, “it’s alright! That was -- _wow_, you’re good!”

Satori lets himself cry, and he lets Wakatoshi cry too. It only lasts for a minute, because then Satori is almost literally jumping for joy. Wakatoshi has a hard time slipping the ring on his finger, but he finally manages. Satori eyes the rings with complete awe. It’s also a silver band, but there’s a small amount of diamonds on its surface.

“It’s perfect,” Satori marvels, aggressively kissing Wakatoshi, “you’re perfect, and I love you, and this is the best day ever!”

“I apologize for ruining your --”

“No! Wakatoshi, no, yours was way better!” Satori insists, kissing him again, and again, and again because it’s never enough.

“I don’t know about ‘better’,” Wakatoshi frowns, “yours was much more ‘you’. And I think that’s cute.”

If Satori weren’t already crying tears of joy, he’d be doing it anyway because of just how genuine and sweet his boyfriend -- no, fiance -- can be.

After gathering up the polaroids, the two settle on the couch to sift through them again. Reminiscing with Wakatoshi like this is always one of Satori’s favorite things, but now it’s even better. Now, they talk about what the future brings, what other photos they might take in the coming years. What they’ll name their kids. Okay, so maybe that last one is mostly Satori; Wakatoshi Isn't exactly ready for that conversation yet. 

Still, it’s perfect. The fact that they both had planned to propose on the same day, at the same time, is perfect. Even though his own attempt had been a complete disaster, Satori is content. Content with the thought that this is what they both want, and the knowledge that it can only get better from here.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought, I love any and all comments. Also feel free to reach out to me on twitter, I'd be honored if you wanted to talk to me! (esp about tendou, ushiten, or shiratorizawa in general!) ♡
> 
> art twitter: [tendouaf](http://www.twitter.com/tendouaf)  
main twitter: [ushitentxt](http://www.twitter.com/ushitentxt) (I'm most active here)  
tumblr: [tendou-satori](http://www.tendou-satori.tumblr.com)  
art blog: [kat-doodles](http://www.kat-doodles.tumblr.com)


End file.
